A 52-year-old Kansas City man is in jail, charged with raping a 17-year-old Platte City teen.

Mark D. Morris, of Kansas City in Clay County, was charged with felony sexual assault in the alleged assault from Monday, July 27. Morris is currently in the Platte County Detention Center held on $25,000 cash only bond.

According to a probable cause statement, Morris is a maintenance worker for apartments along Fontana Ave. The victim reported that around 7:45 a.m. Morris knocked on her apartment door and said he was there to fix the air conditioning.

The victim said Morris worked for about 15 minutes and then put his arms around her and began to kiss and lick her neck. According to the report, the victim pushed Morris away, but he followed her into the living room and then allegedly sexually assaulted her on the couch.

After the incident, Morris left the apartment and the teen locked the door and took a shower. While she was in the shower Morris returned to the apartment and continued to work on the air conditioning. After Morris left again, she showered a second time and got into bed. When she had calmed down she called her aunt who took her to the police station around 2 p.m.

When Morris was interviewed by police, he first denied any physical contact with the teen and said he was only in the apartment about 30 minutes. Morris later changed his statement, allegedly saying how he had sexual intercourse with the teen, but she had asked for sex.

He alleged the teen “flashes” him when he goes to the apartment.

When asked by police why a 17-year-old would want to have sex with a 52-year-old, Morris “had no explanation.”

Morris allegedly told police he initially lied because he thought his boss was trying to “screw” him. When asked why the teen would claim she had been sexually assaulted if she had consented to sex, he said “that's what women do.”

Police later learned from apartment personnel, there had been two other complaints from female tenants about the way Morris had looked at them and some tenants refer to him as “uncle bad touch.”

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